


nothin' like you - alex turcotte

by penaltbox



Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: College Hockey, F/M, Hockey
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-25
Updated: 2020-01-25
Packaged: 2021-02-27 10:22:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,272
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22395469
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/penaltbox/pseuds/penaltbox
Kudos: 3





	nothin' like you - alex turcotte

You and Alex. It was like having a better half and a best friend all in one. You always came as a pair and people knew by now to look for one if they saw the other. You were close and preferred each other’s company over just about anyone else. But you were just friends and you knew better than to push for more. Or that’s what you thought anyways. 

It was Jack’s fault really. He was your neighbor and you hung out with the Hughes boys a lot. When Alex moved in, he was no exception to the group. He quickly planted himself in your lives and none of you never looked back. 

You found yourself frequently being paired off with him in the beginning and it snowballed into what you two were now. He’d give you rides to school any time Jack was too busy, or he’d pick you up from events if you needed it. He always answered his phone when you needed him to, which was a life saver in some instances. He was your scary movie buddy, the jersey you wore to games, and your go-to person when you arrived at parties. 

On a rare occasion, you found yourself riding with just Jack one afternoon when the subject of you and Alex managed to come up. 

“You and Turcs sure hang out a lot, huh?” He asks, looking over at you with a little smirk. 

You scoff and smack his arm, “I hang out with you a lot, too. I’ve known him over a year now though. Why? What are you getting at?”

“I think you know what I mean,” he rolls his eyes, “you guys are way closer than anyone else. He doesn’t like when other guys talk to you. He always offers to pick you up or give you rides. And honestly, could you guys text each other any more often than you do?”

You blush as you realize that maybe things with Alex were a little different than you originally thought. You did like Alex, but you knew he was out of your league. Not to mention he was going to Wisconsin after this year and you would not be. 

“Jack, I trust you so be honest. Am I obvious about it? Do you think he knows?” You bite your lip, looking over at him. 

He sighs, scratching his chin a little, “I’m really not sure. I know you like him, but I know you well enough to tell when you’re interested in someone. He’s different around you though so I have a hard time reading him.”

“What do you mean different?”

“He’s protective. He’s nice. He’s always looking out for you,” he explains with a shrug, “you guys are so close it’s hard to tell where the lines stop. I mean, the kid looks like your boyfriend on vsco. You guys have stepped over just about every friend line possible.”

“We haven’t kissed,” you say immediately, trying to wrap your head around the seemingly out of control situation. 

“Okay, didn’t need to know that. I’m just saying, you guys are so deep in each other’s lives that you’ll have to figure it out yourself,” he parks the car in his driveway, smiling over at you. 

You go to respond to him, but Alex’s head peaks out of the front door of the house. He’s got that big, dimpled smile on that you love so much and you find yourself smiling right back at him as you grab your things. 

“You guys are gross,” Jack laughs, following you up the path. 

“Shut up, Hughes. No more comments on what we were talking about!” You turn and look at him, giving him a glare. 

He shakes his head, holding up his hands, and letting you continue on your way to your favorite person. 

—  
The subject comes up again a couple weeks later when everyone is in someone’s basement at a party and you haven’t left Alex’s side all night. 

Patrick looks over and you manage to catch the spark in his eye as he takes in the sight before him. Alex is sat on a barstool with you standing between his legs, shoulder pressed against his chest. You’re talking to two different people, but your hand is on his thigh as his arm rests across your midsection, holding your hip to keep you close. 

“Bud, you’re killing me,” he says to Alex as he walks over, interrupting whatever he’d been talking to Beecher about. 

Alex laughs a little, “what are you talking about Moynihan? Are you drunk already?”

“I haven’t drank at all tonight,” he smirks, “but seriously. Are you two a thing or what’s going on here? Some of us may want a chance if you’ll ever step away from her.”

This gets your attention and you turn to face Patrick, leaning back against Alex’s chest. Pat blushes and clears his throat a little, knowing he’d been caught. 

“You trying to ask me out, Pat?” You smile at him. 

He was a good guy. You’d have no reason to tell him no if he was going to ask. Honestly, you’d probably have a lot of fun with him even. The arm that tightens around your waist says otherwise though. 

“I don’t think so,” Alex says firmly, “it’s not happening, Moynihan.”

You frown, looking up at Alex, “and why not?”

He looks at you and his eyes go wide, “uh, well... I just don’t see the point in it. Do you even like him?”

“Seriously? We’re not doing this right now,” you step away from Alex, his arm dropping from around you. 

Patrick looks like he’s got whiplash from looking between the two of you. He hadn’t meant to start an argument, but it was happening now. You look over at Jack, taking the few steps over to him. 

“I want to go home,” you mumble, trying not to draw attention. 

Jack frowns, “I can’t drive. I’ve been drinking. Have Alex take you home.”

“I can’t,” you whisper harshly, “he’s the reason I want to leave.”

You glance back at him, and although he looks a little annoyed, he’s dangling Jack’s car keys on his finger for you to see. Of course he knew what you wanted. Of course. 

You let out a quick sigh and walk past him to the stairs, not even glancing back to see if he was following. It isn’t until you’re putting your shoes on that you know he’s with you. 

He pulls his shoes on as well, handing you his coat. You shake your head, crossing your arms instead. He rolls his eyes and walks out, holding the door open for you. 

It’s colder than you expect though and you gasp as you step outside. The wind is howling and before you can even ask for it, Alex is putting the puffy jacket on your shoulders, coming around and zipping the front up over your crossed arms. 

“We don’t need you sick just because you’re stubborn,” he mumbles. 

You pout, sticking your arms through the sleeves and following him the rest of the way to the car. It’s an uncomfortable silence as you drive back, no one even turning the radio on to ease it. 

Alex pulls into your driveway but you don’t get out of the car. You both know you need to talk about whatever his deal was back with the boys. He’d never been quite that defensive when you were talking to someone. Or maybe he had been but you’d never entertained the idea of talking to someone like you had with Patrick. 

“Would it really be so bad?” You whisper. 

Alex looks over at you, tongue poking the inside of his cheek. He runs his hand through his hair, thinking over what he wants to say. 

“I just don’t think you two would work well. I know you both and I know-“ he starts, but you scoff. 

“You know what exactly, Alex? You know that everyone knows it’s me and you? That you and I do everything together? That if I went out with someone you’d have to hang with, who, Jack? Don’t assume Pat and I wouldn’t work just because that means you’d have to share me,” you shake your head, looking over at him. 

“That’s not why I think it wouldn’t work. Don’t make it sound like I stop you from having other friends or talking to people,” he looks over at you and he almost looks angry. 

You’d never seen him make that face at you and you hated it instantly. He wasn’t the person you wanted to be fighting with. He was actually the last person you ever wanted to fight with. But you can’t just give in now. You can’t let him have a tantrum and get away with the fact he’d basically told you that you couldn’t date someone for absolutely no reason. 

“I’m still not doing this. You don’t get to decide things for me like that,” you shake your head and open the car door. 

You get out quickly, but he meets you at the front of the car just as fast. He’s standing in the way of you getting up to your house, the headlights of the car illuminating his face. His demeanor is changed now and he gently reaches a hand out, grabbing your elbow. 

“Wait, no. I don’t want you to leave mad,” he says, a frown on his face, “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have reacted the way I did. He wasn’t even saying he was planning to ask you out but I still jumped on him. And you’re right. I can’t tell you what boys you can talk to.”

You nod a little and look up at him, “I don’t want to leave mad either. I’m sorry I stormed out of there so fast and made you leave. I should have at least let you guys explain yourselves first.”

He kisses your forehead, something not uncommon for him surprisingly, “bring my coat back tomorrow, okay?”

You smile a little and nod again, stepping around him and heading for your front door. Alex waits until you’re safely inside before leaving the driveway and you head for your room. 

You change from his oversized coat and the clothes you’d worn to the get together into sweatpants and one of Alex’s sweatshirts. Despite thinking Patrick was cute, you knew better. No one on that team, or anywhere, compared to Alex. 

—  
“We’re legit drinking?” You ask, not sure about the situation that was developing. 

“Yep!” Trevor says happily from the other side of the car. 

There’s too many people packed into Jack’s car before it leaves from his driveway and you have no clue how Alex is supposed to fit in still. Cole is squished next to you with Trevor next to him. Jack got the driver's seat and Patrick was in the passenger's seat. 

You’d talked to Patrick after you and Alex had your little meltdown two weeks prior. He brushed it off, saying he knew Alex would react that way. Things with you two were fine, but things were still a tiny bit off with Alex. 

The door on your side of the car opens and you look over to see Alex. He peaks around the car, realizing there wasn’t a seat left for him. 

“Uhm, Jack?” He mumbles, looking to the boy in the front seat. 

“Just squish! Come on, we’re already late,” Jack says impatiently, starting the car up. 

Alex grabs your hand, tugging you out of the car. Before you can protest, he takes your seat and pulls you back in, situating you on his lap. You have to lean into him to fit, but once the door closes Jack takes off without hesitation. 

Alex has one hand on your thigh, rubbing gentle circles with his thumb. You relax, the familiar feeling and the body heat coming off of him making you forget for a moment about the awkwardness that had been hanging over you both. 

You catch Cole’s eye at one point and he gives you a knowing look. You sigh and put your hand over Alex’s, wanting him to stop suddenly. You feel like everyone is watching you two and it’s a little suffocating. 

He does stop, but instead of pulling his hand away, he laces his fingers through yours. You swallow hard, looking at your connected hands. How were you supposed to survive this?

If you thought about it too long you’d probably freak out so you focus on something else. The drive to the party isn’t overly long luckily and before you know it Alex is carefully helping you out of the car. 

“Can’t have you falling face first. Jack would kill me,” Alex laughs, following you up the driveway. 

“Glad that’s the only reason you’d help,” you laugh, elbowing him jokingly. 

There’s so many more people in the house than you expect but luckily you know a lot of them. Rather than hanging out with the boys, Abby pulls you away, saying you need to hang with the girls for once. 

You don’t put up a fight and go join them, diving head first into the activities. You catch sight of the boys every now and then, even getting a ‘be safe’ text from Alex. You send him back the kissy face emoji, which was a little more brave than usual for you. 

You have more fun than you’d expected that night and happen to drink more than you’d planned. You’re not too gone, but the buzz you have has gotten rid of any filter you’d ever had. You find yourself sitting at the kitchen island, the boys filing in suddenly. Cole steals Abby away from you, claiming he missed her too much. 

You turn and look at the others, but something in your hazy brain sparks up when you see Alex. It’s like you’d been missing him but nothing told you in your body until you saw him. You know you must be smiling like an idiot when you see him and you can’t even help yourself when you squeal, but his smile matches yours. You rarely got a full smile out of Alex, as he typically kept his tight lipped, but his real ones got you every time. 

“Alex! Where’s my favorite boy been all night?” You laugh, holding your arms out for a hug. 

He seems to be equally tipsy as he laughs and walks over, kissing your cheek before hugging you tight. You rest your head on his chest, closing your eyes for a moment. 

“Missed you,” he says, making your heartbeat race. 

“Get a room you two!” Jack yells, making you look around the kitchen to see where he was. 

Alex hushes you, knowing you were ready to fire back at him, “come on, let’s go talk.”

He pulls back and grabs your hand, heading towards the stairs. He walks all the way to the top and sits down, patting the spot in his left. You take a seat, holding still as he scoots as close as he possibly can next to you. 

He puts his feet on the closest stair, resting his arms across his knees and laying his head on them. He smiles over at you and you don’t stop yourself from running your hand through his hair. 

“Are we good, Al?” You ask him.

It’s a question that was weighing heavily on you lately and sober you had been too afraid to bring it up. His tongue darts out to wet his lips, but he nods a little. 

“Of course we are. You’re my favorite person.”

You smile at that, leaning into him a little, “you’re my favorite person, too. I don’t know why I ever try and pretend like you aren’t. I never should have even questioned that thing with Patrick the other week. I wouldn’t go out with him anyways.”

“Why wouldn’t you?” Alex asks, giving you the worst case of puppy dog eyes you’d ever seen on a boy. 

“Come on, I think you know why,” you blush, taking your hand from his hair. 

He sits up, one hand pressing to the ground behind you. He’s leaning in before you can say a thing and his lips meet yours. You sigh and kiss him back, turning to face him as much as you can. 

When you pull back he’s got a little smirk on his face and you laugh. He leans in again, kissing you harder. He deepens it quickly, slipping his tongue in your mouth. 

His arm locks tight around your waist as his other hand slips up your shirt. You gasp a little, pulling away and looking at him. His lips are tinged red and you let out a little whine at how he looks. 

“Fuck, don’t make that noise,” he groans, shaking his head a little. 

You smirk, “why not? It seems like you liked it.”

“Yeah but we can’t be doing that here,” he shakes his head, kissing your cheek, “so can I ask if my favorite person feels the same way as I do?”

“You can ask that. She’d say yes,” you laugh, “well, I mean if you’re asking what I think you are?”

“I like you,” he says blatantly, leaning in to kiss you again. 

You try not to smile too much as you kiss him, but you have to break it. You’re almost worried the smile might end up permanent at this point, but it’s worth it. You bury your face into the side of his neck, kissing it a couple times. 

Just as you’re about to sit up and say something you hear the whistle from the bottom of the stairs as Jack yells up at you both. 

“I said get a room, not the staircase!” He yells, getting plenty of people’s attention. 

You feel Alex laugh, but he’s holding you too tight for you to sit up and look. You know it must be bad if he’s holding you in place. 

“Fuck off, Hughes. You knew this was coming!” Alex yells down at him. 

“Double dates!” Abby yells and you finally get Alex to let you loose. 

You tuck yourself under his arm, looking at everyone who’d collected. He holds you close, kissing your temple as you see all your friends looking at you both. 

“Okay so is it finally official?” Cole asks, shooting a thumbs up at Alex. 

You look up at him, knowing what you wanted. He glances down at you with his eyebrows raised. You give him a little nod and he turns to everyone. 

“Yeah, we’re dating.”

The group is rowdy after that, different yells and cheers coming up at you both. You laugh and look at Alex again. 

“Didn’t know that would make them so happy. What took you so long?” You tease him. 

“You hush. I’ll get enough of it from them but you’re supposed to be on my side,” he smiles, noticing Trevor’s holding his phone up. 

He flips him off but you lean in to kiss his cheek at the same time. You can’t wait to see how that one turns out. 

“Guess we better rejoin this party, huh?” He asks, standing up and holding his hand out for you. 

You take his hand, following him down the stairs. He hardly lets go of you that night, keeping you close and giving you kisses here and there. 

You get teased about it, but you really don’t care. For once, you know you’re on the same page with him and you’d trade that for all the hassle in the world.


End file.
